The best Spanish restaurants in Los Angeles

What is it? A longtime beloved Spanish deli in the South Bay.

Why we love it: Drive through Harbor City's warehouse district, turn down a dead-end side street and join the line at this tiny storefront—you’ve reached your paella destination. On weekdays, La Española hawks baguettes packed with jamón, cheese, or tuna in tomato sauce, but on Saturday mornings, Angelenos trek from far and wide to chow down on authentic bomba rice dotted with mussels, pork loin, jumbo shrimp and other goods. Order ahead to secure the elevated varieties, such as squid ink or all chicken, and don’t forget to grab jars of imported olives, slices of Ibérico ham and thick wedges of Manchego cheese before you leave.

Best for: Paella, cured meats

Address: 25020 Doble Avenue, Harbor City, CA 90710

Hours of operation: Mon–Fri 8:30am–5pm, Sat 9am–5pm

What is it? A chef-driven Santa Monica tapas bar with first-rate cocktails and an excellent sherry selection.

Why we love it: L.A.’s Spanish dining scene might be fairly lackluster, but Xuntos serves a decent (enough) selection of traditional bar bites from Asturias, Catalonia, the Basque region and Galicia, where chef-owner Sandra Cordero spent her childhood summers. Pronounced “chuntos” (which means “together” in the Galician dialect), the restaurant offers hallmarks like patatas bravas and croquetas de jamón alongside harder-to-find items like bikinis (tiny grilled cheese sandwiches), Spanish-style empanadas (served in slices, unlike the ones in Latin America) and plenty of seafood. Not every dish will impress Spanish food snobs, but Westsiders love the lofted dining room for kalimotxo (red wine and Coca-Cola), a slate of gin-based cocktails and a curated selection of Spanish wines, sherries and vermouths.

Best for: Bikinis, empanadas, sherry

Address: 516 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Hours of operation: Tue–Thu 11am–9pm; Fri, Sat 11am–10pm

What is it? A Spanish-meets-French tapas restaurant in El Segundo.

Why we love it: Spaniards take full advantage of their coastline, so it should come as no surprise that one of the best Spanish restaurants in L.A. is just a block from ours. Gabi James adds a bit of Redondo Beach into the mix, with beach-themed gin-and-tonics, the South Bay Caesar salad and other playful offerings. Of course, it nails the traditional dishes, too: Come here for the best tortilla española in town, stacked inches high with thin slices of potato and sweet pops of caramelized onion—perfect for a post-beach snack, if you ask me. The seafood fideuá, made with thin pieces of spaghetti, in lieu of arborio rice, is excellent as well.

Best for: Tortilla española, fideuá

Address: 1810 S Catalina Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Hours of operation: Tue–Thu 5–9pm, Fri 5–10pm, Sat 10am–10pm, Sun 10am–9pm

What is it? A Beverly Grove mainstay that’s been around for over three decades.

Why we love it: The scent of seafood, garlic and saffron hits you the second you enter La Paella, which feels more like a friend’s hacienda than a restaurant. Colorful ceramic plates line the walls, the lighting is low and warm, and the tapas come out sizzling in delectable pools of garlic and olive oil. As the name suggests, the paella is the focus, but I’m more smitten with the lengthy list of tapas: flavorful shrimp, grilled squid, simmered meatballs and more. By far the city’s most authentic in congeniality and ambience, La Paella is a restaurant where I would be more than happy to enjoy a long lunch, take a siesta and then return for dinner the same day.

Best for: Selection of tapas, ambience

Address: 476 S San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Hours of operation: Tue–Fri 11:30am–2:30pm, 5:30–9:30pm; Sat 5–10pm

What is it? A slightly inconsistent Spanish-inspired restaurant in Los Feliz from Jose Andrés Group alum Joshua Whigham.

Why we love it: The chef-driven cuisine is great here, but the service is hit-or-miss—and at a time when even a more casual night on the town for two easily costs over $150, every forgotten item in an order or a noticeably long wait between dishes really counts. That being said, compared to most other Spanish restaurants in L.A., Casa Leo actually knows how to put together a decent plate of tapas. There’s acorn-fed jamón ibérico and a tasty tomato dish laden with tomato conserva. For the budget-conscious crowd, Whigham serves up flatbreads called cocas with a light, crispy crust similar to an Italian pinsa. I particularly enjoyed the trout en escabeche, inspired by Basque chef Martin Berasategui and the painstakingly crafted cheesecake (a hybrid between New York and Basque). 

Best for: A great meal (if you don’t mind a few service snafus)

Address: 4500 Los Feliz Blvd, Suite C, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Hours of operation: Mon, Wed, Thu 5:30–9:30pm; Fri 5:30–10:30pm; Sat 11am–2:30pm, 5:30–10:30pm; Sun 11am–2:30pm, 5:30–9:30pm

What is it? A tiny wine bar and tapas joint on Santa Monica’s Main Street.

Why we love it: Manchego specializes in Californian-influenced tapas and Spanish wines by the glass and bottle. The fare is solid enough here, from the croquetas and patatas bravas to the Catalan-style chicken and Galician octopus. Come weekend brunch time, this cozy spot also offers bottomless sangria and mimosas, as well as a reasonably priced daily happy hour from 5 to 6:30pm that includes vegetarian-friendly croquetas and a killer goat cheese and fig tostado. 

Best for: Tapas by the beach

Address: 2518 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Hours of operation: Tue–Fri 5–9:30pm; Sat, Sun 11am–9:30pm

What is it? A Spanish tavern and flamenco club since the early 1960s—and a cabaret long before that.

Why we love it: Silver Lake’s subterranean hideout is a longtime favorite for dinner and a show. These days, El Cid’s on-site theatrics skew more toward burlesque, stand-up comedy and live music. From 6 to 10pm, however, you'll also find a menu that includes chorizo croquetas, albondigas (meatballs) and a so-so seafood paella for two. (And if you're here for tradition, don’t worry: You can still catch flamenco dancing earlier on Saturday nights, before other third-party events often take over the venue.)

Best for: Live entertainment

Address: 4212 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029 

Hours of operation: Tue–Sun 5pm–2am

What is it? A neighborhood restaurant in Montrose that will transport you to Spain—at least in terms of ambience. 

Why we love it: The straightforward tapas-centric cooking leaves much to be desired, but it’s hard to deny the charms of Casa Córdoba’s indoor-outdoor space. Since 2013, the restaurant has dutifully served Spanish standard-bearers like tortilla española, patatas bravas and thinly shaved jamón de ibérico with piquillo peppers. The cooked-to-order paellas lack the traditional crunchy socarrat associated with the Valencian specialty, but house specialties like pasta española (served with chicken or shrimp) and Moroccan-spiced short rib more than make up the difference. For dessert, order the churros con chocolate or the Basque cheesecake.

Best for: Outdoor dining, sangria

Address: 2331 Honolulu Ave, Ste C, Montrose, CA 91020 

Hours of operation: Tue–Thu 11:30am–8pm; Fri, Sat 11:30am–9:30pm; Sun 11:30am–8pm

What is it? An upscale chain from Spain with a middling grasp of its native cuisine. 

Why we love it: Three decades after first opening in a tiny town outside Barcelona, Telefèric has landed in L.A. by way of a neutral-toned dining room in Brentwood with another satellite down in Long Beach. Similar to its Bay Area outposts in Los Gatos and Palo Alto, this upscale-casual chain caters to the older, monied local clientele with predictable, fairly humdrum takes on seafood paella, patatas bravas and other Spanish staples. Despite its claim to authenticity, the fare here is unfortunately less than impressive. But it just barely lands on this list because of excellent cocktails and the availability of porrón service, which makes Telefèric stand out in terms of some boozy tableside fun.  

Best for: Tableside porrón

Address: Brentwood: 11930 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049; Long Beach: 6420 Pacific Coast Hwy Ste 160, Long Beach, CA 90803

Hours of operation: Mon–Wed 11:30am–9:15pm; Thu, Fri 11:30am–10:15pm; Sat 11am–10:15pm; Sun 11am–9:15pm